On September 16th, our Preschool hosted our yearly Caregivers Meeting. It was well attended and the talk was given in Bahasa Indonesia by our well-qualified Indonesian assistants. Twenty-five nannies and drivers came to learn more about our Montessori philosophy and many relevant questions were asked, showing how engaged and interested your caregivers are.

One could wonder: ‘Why hold a special meeting for the people who already take such good care of your children?’

In a country where adults are so respectful to youngsters, the good care provided can, at times, work against a child’s inner yearning for independence. Maria Montessori understood that in order to be free, a child needs to be independent. She also said that learning to be independent came before freedom. This concept is often misunderstood. Parents and caregivers sometimes expect children to become independent by granting them freedom of choice without boundaries.

The cornerstone of your child’s freedom, self-esteem and happiness is fostering independence first and this is exactly the purpose of our Caregivers Meetings. We provided some keys to your nannies and drivers about how to help your child to be able to help her/himself, and by reminding them what it feels like to be a child. The focus of this talk shows that the most important thing is not that tasks are done well and quickly by them, but that they help the child to learn, step by step, how to become free.

Developing independence through learning how to lace shoes, put on clothes, clean spilled water or crumbs, prepare a snack and consider others is helping build the foundation for confidence and positive development.